Telenor to educate over ten thousand school kids on online bullying and safe internet use

More than 260 Telenor employees will meet over ten thousand Bulgarian school kids today and will educate them on the risks they may encounter online, on online bullying and оn the ways to tackle it. The Be Smart, Use Heart initiative is held in cooperation with the Bulgarian Safer Internet Center.

The Telenor employees will visit 60 elementary and middle schools across Bulgaria and will meet first- to eighth grade students and will teach them on the types of online bullying, the main risks associated with them and the way to avoid and mitigate these risks. All topics will be presented with the help of specially designed entertainment games, developed by the experts from the Bulgarian Safer Internet Center.

Telenor also offers to all Internet users its Online Bullying Handbook (http://cyberbulling.safenet.bg) which is suitable for both school children and their parents as well as its Social Networks Glossary for Parents (http://socialguide.safenet.bg). In 2014, Telenor was the first Bulgarian operator to offer, in cooperation with the Interior Ministry, a filter that blocks web domains containing child sexual abuse content.

"For yet another year, Telenor focuses on the tools and the means that might make the internet a safer place for all of us and for the most vulnerable among us - our children. Together with the Bulgarian Safer Internet Center we want to raise awareness and send a very important message to all kids and their parents. Moreover, my colleagues and I will personally go and visit many children to show them that how to make safer their use of the Internet", commented Telenor Bulgaria chief executive officer Mr. Michael Foley (@Michael_Telenor).

The Be Smart, Use Heart initiative in Bulgaria is part of the global campaign by Telenor Group which is expected to encompass more than 60,000 students and parents in 13 market around the world.

"Digital communication and internet access create enormous opportunities for people, business and society. However, the internet does not only connect people with good intentions and this is unfortunately a reality that children can face. We believe it's important to educate and raise awareness early on so that young people can make wise online choices and be safe online. As a global mobile and Internet provider, it is also our responsibility to address this," said Sigve Brekke, President & CEO of Telenor Group.